Vehicle approach notification apparatus for electric motorcycle

ABSTRACT

A vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycle, which outputs notification sound for notifying a walker or the like of approach of a vehicle from a speaker attached to a vehicle body includes a control unit for controlling the notification sound. The control unit is attached to a position, displaced rather forwardly of the vehicle body, of a bottom face in an accommodating box disposed below a seat of the electric motorcycle. A cover plate, which configures part of the bottom of the accommodating box, is removably disposed above the control unit. A low voltage battery as a power supply for auxiliaries is accommodated on the bottom of the accommodating box displaced rather rearwardly of the vehicle body from the control unit. The cover plate is disposed so as to cover an upper portion of the low voltage battery in flush with an upper face of the control unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to ApplicationNo. 2010-221600, filed in Japan on Sep. 30, 2010. The entirety of theabove-identified application is expressly incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a vehicle approach notificationapparatus for an electric motorcycle. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a vehicle approach notification control apparatusfor an electric motorcycle, which issues a notification sound fornotifying a walker or the like of approach of an electric motorcycle.

2. Description of Background Art

In recent years, in an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle whosedevelopment is proceeding, since the driving sound when the vehicle isdriven to run by an electric motor is weak in comparison with thedriving sound of an engine driven vehicle, a walker or the like is lesslikely to recognize approach of the vehicle. Thus, an appropriatecountermeasure against this fact is demanded.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-195137, a vehicle approachnotification apparatus is disclosed wherein, when it is detected thatthe vehicle speed of a hybrid four-wheeled car, which runs, principallyupon low speed running, with the driving force of an electric motor, islower than a predetermined value and the brake is being operated, anotification sound is outputted from a speaker disposed on the innerside of a bumper at a front portion of a vehicle body, so that approachof the vehicle is let known to a walker or the like. A control apparatusfor outputting a predetermined notification sound to the speaker isdisposed in an engine room at a front portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In application of such a vehicle approach notification apparatus asdescribed above, since the possibility that the requirement for asystem, a function and so forth may vary in mixed traffic with enginevehicles is high, the vehicle approach notification apparatus ispreferably configured such that system changes such as specificationchanges or the like of the control apparatus can be carried out readily.Further, in motorcycles which are poor in surplus space in comparisonwith four-wheeled cars, it is demanded to implement an incorporationstructure which can cope also with such system changes as describedabove while assuring a disposition space for a control apparatus, whichis a comparatively large piece of equipment.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle approachnotification apparatus for an electric motorcycle which solves thesubject of the background art described above and optimizes anattachment structure of a control apparatus, which carries out outputcontrol of notification sound, to a vehicle body.

In order to achieve the object described above, according to a firstaspect of the present invention, a vehicle approach notificationapparatus for an electric motorcycle (1), which outputs a notificationsound for notifying a walker or the like of approach of a vehicle from aspeaker (60) attached to a vehicle body, is configured such that thevehicle approach notification apparatus includes a control unit (80) forcontrolling the notification sound, the control unit (80) is attached toa position, displaced rather forwardly of the vehicle body, of a bottomface in an accommodating box (49) disposed below a seat (24) of theelectric motorcycle (1), and a cover plate (148) which configures partof the bottom of the accommodating box (49) is removably disposed abovethe control unit (80).

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, a lowvoltage battery (51), as a power supply for auxiliaries, is accommodatedon the bottom of the accommodating box (49) displaced rather rearwardlyof the vehicle body from the control unit (80), and the cover plate(148) is disposed so as to cover an upper portion of the low voltagebattery (51) in flush with an upper face of the control unit (80).

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, the lowvoltage battery (51) is disposed in a battery accommodating recessedportion (50 a) provided on the rear side of the vehicle body withrespect to the accommodating box (49), the control unit (80) is disposedin a control unit accommodating recessed portion (50 b) provided on thefront side of the vehicle body with respect to the battery accommodatingrecessed portion (50 a), the bottom face of the battery accommodatingrecessed portion (50 a) is formed at a position lower than that of thebottom face of the control unit accommodating recessed portion (50 b),and a cross pipe (59) which connects a pair of left and right rearframes (40) of a vehicle body frame (34) in a vehicle widthwisedirection to each other is disposed below the bottom of the control unitaccommodating recessed portion (50 b).

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the lowvoltage battery (51) is disposed such that a positive side terminal(155) and a negative side terminal (156) are disposed in the vehiclewidthwise direction and both terminals (155, 156) are positioned on therear side of the vehicle body and on the upper side of the vehicle body.

Further, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, thecontrol unit (80) and the low voltage battery (51) are disposed in anoffset relationship to one side in the widthwise direction with respectto a vehicle body center line (C) as viewed in top plan of the vehiclebody, and a fuse box (159) is disposed at a position opposite to theoffset direction below the cover plate (148).

Further, according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, theoffset direction is the opposite side to the side on which an electricmotor (M) of the electric motorcycle (1) is disposed.

Further, according to a seventh aspect of the present invention, thecontrol unit (80) includes a coupler (81) for being connected to acontrol unit connecting cable (83) extending from the low voltagebattery (51), the coupler (81) is disposed on the front side of thevehicle body with respect to the control unit (80), the control unitconnecting cable (83) disposed forwardly of the vehicle body from thepositive side terminal (155) side of the low voltage battery (51) isconnected to the coupler (81), and a connection cable (82) whichconnects the coupler (81) and the control unit (80) to each other isconnected to the coupler (81) from the negative side terminal (156) sideof the low voltage battery (51) with respect to the control unitconnecting cable (83) as viewed in top plan of the vehicle body.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the vehicleapproach notification apparatus includes the control unit forcontrolling the notification sound and the control unit is attached tothe position, displaced rather forwardly of the vehicle body, of thebottom face in the accommodating box disposed below the seat of theelectric motorcycle and besides the cover plate, which configures partof the bottom of the accommodating box, is removably disposed above thecontrol unit. Therefore, the accommodating box below the seat of themotorcycle can be accessed simply by opening and closing of the seat,and from a point of view of a waterproof structure and that theaccommodating box is locked and managed, it is possible to dispose thecontrol unit in the accommodating box to cope readily with applicationor change of the system. Further, if a partition plate is disposed abovethe control unit, then no influence is had on an accommodation item of auser. Further, since a front portion of the accommodating box isfrequently formed in a forwardly tapering state similarly to the shapeof the seat, also the cover plate can be formed with a necessary butminimized size.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the low voltagebattery as a power supply for auxiliaries is accommodated on the bottomof the accommodating box displaced rather rearwardly of the vehicle bodyfrom the control unit, and the cover plate is disposed so as to coverthe upper portion of the low voltage battery in flush with the upperface of the control unit. Therefore, if the control unit and the lowvoltage battery, which is a maintenance part similar to the controlunit, are disposed in a concentrated manner, and they are covered at anupper portion thereof with the same cover plate, then separate andindependent cover plates for the individual parts become unnecessary.Besides, since the cover plate is in flush above the control unit andthe low voltage battery, it is possible to stably retain an accommodatedarticle in the accommodating box.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the low voltagebattery is disposed in the battery accommodating recessed portionprovided on the rear side of the vehicle body with respect to theaccommodating box, and the control unit is disposed in the control unitaccommodating recessed portion provided on the front side of the vehiclebody with respect to the battery accommodating recessed portion.Further, the bottom face of the battery accommodating recessed portionis formed at the position lower than that of the bottom face of thecontrol unit accommodating recessed portion, and the cross pipe which,connects the left and right rear frames in pair of the vehicle bodyframe in the vehicle widthwise direction to each other, is disposedbelow the bottom of the control unit accommodating recessed portion. Theaccommodating box below the seat is frequently supported by the crosspipe of the vehicle body frame which is directed in the vehiclewidthwise direction, and, from between the control unit and theauxiliary battery which are disposed on the bottom face of theaccommodating box, the control unit is smaller in terms of the dimensionin the heightwise direction. Therefore, the cross pipe can be laid on ashouldered portion formed on the bottom face of the control unitaccommodating recessed portion thereby to achieve effective utilizationof the space.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the low voltagebattery is disposed such that the positive side terminal and thenegative side terminal are disposed in the vehicle widthwise directionand both terminals are positioned on the rear side of the vehicle bodyand on the upper side of the vehicle body. Therefore, it is possible toset the height of the low voltage battery in the upward and downwarddirection to a necessary but minimum height such that no influence ishad on any member below the accommodating box while the seat height ismaintained. Further, it is possible to facilitate wiring or maintenanceof the battery. Furthermore, the terminals of the low voltage batteryare disposed in a spaced relationship from the control unit, and alsothe necessity to pay attention to interference of the low voltagebattery with the control unit upon maintenance of the low voltagebattery can be reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the control unitand the low voltage battery are disposed in an offset relationship toone side in the widthwise direction with respect to the vehicle bodycenter line as viewed in top plan of the vehicle body, and the fuse boxis disposed at the position opposite to the offset direction below thecover plate. Therefore, the fuse box can be disposed in the proximity ofthe low voltage battery, and while the length of a high voltage wiringline from the low voltage battery can be reduced, the disposition spacefor the fuse box can be provided efficiently.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the offsetdirection is the opposite side to the side on which an electric motor ofthe electric motorcycle is disposed. Therefore, one-sidedness of theposition of the center of gravity by the offset disposition of theelectric motor in the vehicle widthwise direction with respect to thevehicle body center line can be corrected by the weight of the controlunit and the low voltage battery.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the controlunit includes the coupler for being connected to the control unitconnecting cable extending from the low voltage battery, and the coupleris disposed on the front side of the vehicle body with respect to thecontrol unit. Further, the control unit connecting cable disposedforwardly of the vehicle body from the positive side terminal side ofthe low voltage battery is connected to the coupler, and the connectingcable which connects the coupler and the control unit to each other isconnected to the coupler from the negative side terminal side of the lowvoltage battery with respect to the control unit connecting cable asviewed in top plan of the vehicle body. Therefore, the connectiondirection of the coupler can be directed to the vehicle widthwisedirection. Further, the remaining space after the control unit and theauxiliary battery are disposed in the forward and rearward direction ofthe vehicle body can be effectively utilized to dispose the coupler, andbesides optimum wiring can be implemented.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, itshould be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawingswhich are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitativeof the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an electric motorcycle, whichincludes a vehicle approach notification control apparatus according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a see-through side elevational view of the electricmotorcycle;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a vehicle body frame;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the vehicle body frame;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a front portion of a headpipe;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a vehicle body in a state in whicha front cover and so forth are removed;

FIG. 7( a) is a front elevational view and FIG. 7( b) is a sectionalview of a cover member according to a modification to a cover membershown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8( a) is a front elevational view and FIG. 8( b) is a sectionalview of a cover member according to a second modification to the covermember shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevational view showing a structure arounda front stay;

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional side elevational view showing a structurearound the head pipe;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an attached state of aspeaker;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a structure around a steeringhandle member;

FIG. 13 is a partial sectional side elevational view showing aconfiguration around an accommodation box;

FIG. 14 is a top plan view showing a configuration around theaccommodation box;

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of an electric motorcycle to which anapproach notification control apparatus according to a second embodimentof the present invention is applied;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged front elevational view around a front stayaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a partial sectional side elevational view showing aconfiguration around an accommodation box according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a partial sectional side elevational view showing aconfiguration around the accommodation box according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a top plan view showing a configuration around theaccommodation box according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a partial sectional front elevational view showing aconfiguration around a battery case according to the second embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a partial sectional top plan view of a control unit;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 19

FIG. 23 is a top plan view showing a configuration of a vehicle body ofan electric motorcycle

FIG. 24 is a sectional view of a swing arm as viewed from above thevehicle body

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the control unit

FIG. 26 is a graph illustrating a relationship between the vehicle speedand running sound of various vehicles; and

FIG. 27 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of approachnotification sound output control.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein the same reference numerals have beenused to identify the same or similar elements throughout the severalviews.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an electric motorcycle 1, whichincludes a vehicle approach notification control apparatus according toan embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a see-through sideelevational view of the electric motorcycle 1. The electric motorcycle 1is a saddle type electric vehicle of the scooter type having a low floor15. A rear wheel WR supported for rotation on an axle 23 is driven torotate by rotating power exhibited by an electric motor M built in aswing arm 21.

A vehicle body frame 34 of the electric motorcycle 1 includes a headpipe 36 inclined rearwardly upwards and supporting a front fork 2 forsupporting a front wheel WF for rotation thereon and a steering handlemember 9 in the form of a bar connected to an upper portion of the frontfork 2 for steering movement. A main frame 35 extends rearwardlydownwards from the head pipe 36. A pair of left and right under frames39 are connected to a lower portion of the main frame 35 through curvedportions 38 and extend rearwardly. A pair of left and right rear frames40 integrally connect to a rear end of the under frames 39 and extendrearwardly upwards. The head pipe 36 supports a steering stem 37 forrotation thereon. The steering handle member 9 is secured to an upperend of the steering stem 37. An under bracket 68 for supporting an upperend portion of the front fork 2 is secured to a lower end portion of thesteering stem 37.

On a pivot plate 19 provided at a front portion of the rear frames 40 ofthe vehicle body frame 34, a side stand 20 for keeping the vehicle bodyin an erected state inclined to the left side is mounted for pivotalmotion. The swing arm 21 is supported at a front portion thereof forrocking motion through a pivot shaft 58. A rear cushion unit 31 isprovided between a rear portion of the left side rear frame 40 and arear portion of the swing arm 21. Further, a main stand 22 for erectingthe vehicle body uprightly is attached to a lower portion of the swingarm 21. The swing arm 21 is of the cantilever type for supporting therear wheel WR for rotation only by means of an arm on the left side inthe vehicle widthwise direction. A PDU (power drive unit) 52 forcontrolling output power of the electric motor M is disposed at aposition immediately rearwardly of the pivot shaft 58 forwardly of thecantilever arm.

The electric motorcycle 1 includes a front cover 7 for covering the headpipe 36 from the front. A leg shield 10 extends from rearwardly of thehead pipe 36 to the front cover 7 in such a manner as to cover the legsof a rider seated on a seat 24 from forwardly. The low floor 15 connectsto a lower portion of the leg shield 10 such that the feet of the riderseated on the seat 24 are placed thereon and covering a battery case 47from above. A pair of left and right floor side covers 17 depend fromthe opposite sides of the low floor 15 in such a manner as to cover theopposite sides of the under frames 39. An undercover 18 interconnectslower edges of the floor side covers 17. A seat lower front cover 16extends upwardly from a rear end of the low floor 15 in such a manner asto cover a lower portion of the seat 24 from the front. A pair of leftand right side covers 25 connect to the opposite sides of the seat lowerfront cover 16 in such a manner as to cover a lower portion of the seat24 from the opposite sides. A rear cover 28 connects to the side covers25 and covers the rear wheel WR from above.

The battery case 47 is covered with the low floor 15, the floor sidecovers 17, the under cover 18, the seat lower front cover 16 and theside covers 25. A headlamp 4 is disposed at a front end of the frontcover 7 in such a manner that it is supported by a front stay 33 securedto the head pipe 36. A tail lamp 30 is attached to the rear frame 40. Arear fender 32 is disposed below the tail lamp 30.

Direction indicators 5 are disposed on the left and right of theheadlamp 4 in the vehicle widthwise direction. A horn 69 for issuing analarm is disposed rearwardly of the headlamp 4. A front fender 3disposed below the front cover 7 is attached to the front fork 2 in sucha manner as to cover the rear wheel WR from above while a sub fender 26for covering the rear wheel WR from obliquely forwardly upwardly isattached to an upper portion of the swing arm 21.

The steering handle member 9 is covered at a middle portion thereof inthe vehicle widthwise direction with a handle cover 8. A front carrier 6disposed forwardly of the front cover 7 is supported on the front stay33. A load basket 66 or the like can be attached to the front carrier 6.A luggage carrier 27 is provided at an upper portion of the rear cover28 rearwardly of the seat 24. A rear carrier 29 disposed above theluggage carrier 27 is removably attached to the rear frame 40.

The battery case 47 in which a high voltage battery 48 of, for example,72 V for supplying power to the electric motor M is built is disposedbetween the left and right under frames 39 in such a manner that it issupported by the under frames 39. Further, a cross member 44 extendingacross a substantially central portion of the battery case 47 isprovided between the left and right under frames 39. The low floor 15 issupported by the cross member 44.

At a front portion of the under frames 39, a front protective member 41for protecting a front side lower portion of the battery case 47 fromforwardly is provided in such a manner that a central portion thereof isconnected to a lower end of the main frame 35. Further, at a rearportion of the under frames 39, a rear protective member 43 forprotecting a rear lower portion of the battery case 47 from rearwardlyis provided. A plurality of lower protective members 42 extending in theforward and backward direction of the vehicle body is provided betweenthe front and rear protective members 41 and 43 in such a manner thatthey project the battery case 47 from below.

A pair of left and right cooling air introduction ducts 45 are connectedat a downstream end portion thereof to a front portion of the batterycase 47 through a connecting pipe 46. The cooling air introduction ducts45 extend along the main frame 35 in such a manner as to sandwich themain frame 35 from the opposite sides in the leg shield 10. A recess 11concave in the forward direction of the vehicle body is formed at aposition of the leg shield 10 corresponding to the connecting portionbetween the main frame 35 and the head pipe 36. A lid 12, which coversan upper portion of the recess, 11 is attached to the leg shield 10. Anair inlet port 13 is formed between a lower edge of the lid 12 and therecess 11. The cooling air introduction ducts 45 are connected on anupper end side thereof to the leg shield 10 in a communicatingrelationship with the air inlet port 13.

A cooling fan 53 is attached to an upper face of a rear portion of thebattery case 47 such that air taken in from the air inlet port 13 byoperation of the cooling fan 53 is introduced into the battery case 47through the cooling air introduction ducts 45 and the connecting pipe 46thereby to cool the high voltage battery 48 in the battery case 47.

An accommodating box 49 made of synthetic resin and disposed below theseat 24 above the swing arm 21 is disposed between the left and rightrear frames 40 in such a manner that it is supported by the rear frames40. The accommodating box 49 is covered from above with the openable andclosable seat 24. An accommodating recess 50 for accommodating therein alow voltage battery 51, for example, of 12 V for supplying power toauxiliaries such as the headlamp 4 and the tail lamp 30 is formedintegrally at a lower portion of the rear side of the accommodating box49 in such a manner that it projects downwardly.

The vehicle approach notification control apparatus according to thepresent invention outputs predetermined notification sound from thespeaker as sound generation means attached to the self vehicle to notifya walker and so forth of approach of the self vehicle. In the electricmotorcycle 1 according to the present embodiment, a speaker 60 foremitting notification sound is provided at a position higher than thehead pipe 36 on the inner side with respect to the front cover 7 and acontrol unit 80 for controlling the output of the speaker 60 is disposedforwardly of the low voltage battery 51 in the accommodating box 49.

Further, it is possible to provide a plurality of speakers for emittingnotification sound on the vehicle body, and in the present embodiment, asecond speaker 70 is disposed on a front end face of the accommodatingbox 49 centrally in the vehicle widthwise direction. With the secondspeaker 70, outputted notification sound is reflected by the leg shield10 and so forth so that the notification sound can be recognized alsofrom the left, right and rear of the vehicle body.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a side elevational view and a perspective view of thevehicle body frame 34, respectively. A gusset 57, which increases thecoupling strength between the head pipe 36 and the main frame 35 andfunctions as an attaching stay for various auxiliaries, is provided at ajoining portion of the head pipe 36 and the main frame 35. The mainframe 35 extends linearly in a rearwardly downward direction from thehead pipe 36 and is connected to the front protective member 41, whichextends in the vehicle widthwise direction. The cooling air introductionducts 45 extend along the main frame 35 in such a manner that theysandwich the main frame 35 from the opposite sides in the leg shield 10.The under frames 39 are formed integrally with the curved portions 38connected to the left and right in the vehicle widthwise direction ofthe main frame 35 below the gusset 57. The front protective member 41 isjointed at left and right end portions thereof in the vehicle widthwisedirection to the curved portions 38. Further, a first cross pipe 59extending in the vehicle widthwise direction is disposed between theleft and right rear frames 40 rearwardly upwardly of the battery case37.

It is to be noted that the attaching position of the second speaker canbe changed in various manners, and for example, also it is possible toattach the second speaker, for example, between left and right portionsof the front protective member 41 at a lower end portion of the mainframe 35.

The battery case 47 in which the high voltage battery 48 is accommodatedis configured from a case main body 47 b of a bottomed box shape, and alid 47 a which covers an opening at an upper portion of the case mainbody 47 b. A flange portion 56 is formed around a joining plane betweenthe case main body 47 b and the lid 47 a.

A side bracket 54 is secured by welding to an upper face of each of theunder frames 39. The cross member 44 and the flange portion 56 of thebattery case 47 are secured to this side bracket 54. The flange portion56 is formed bypassing the cross member 44 and is secured to an upperface of the side bracket 54 by bolts 55. The lower protective members 42for protecting the battery case 47 are provided between the frontprotective member 41 and the rear protective member 43 and connect thefront and rear protective members 41 and 43 to each other.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a front portion of the headpipe 36. Like reference characters to those described hereinabove denotelike or equivalent elements. The headlamp 4 and the direction indicators5 are formed as a unit. The front stay 33 which supports this lamp unitis formed from an upright frame portion 104 disposed so as to have aspace in the leftward and rightward direction and disposed forwardly ofthe head pipe 36 by being formed by bending of a single round pipematerial, and an upper side connecting plate 105 and a lower sideconnecting plate 107 which connect liner portions of the upright frameportion 104 on the left and right to each other. The front stay 33 issecured to the head pipe 36 by a pipe material (not shown) coupled tothe rear face side of the upper and lower connecting plates 105 and 107.

A pair of left and right support bases 108 are provided forwardly of alower portion of the upright frame portion 104, and weld nuts 109 arewelded to a lower face of each of the support bases 108. Further, twoweld nuts 106 are welded also at two places of the upper side connectingplate 105 spaced from each other on the left and the right. Lower sidecarrier securing holes 103 are formed at a portion of the front cover 7,which corresponds to the weld nuts 109 of the support bases 108, whileupper side carrier securing holes 102 are formed at a portion of thefront cover 7, which corresponds to the weld nuts 106 of the upper sideconnecting plate 105.

The front carrier 6 is secured to the front stay 33 by co-fasteningusing fastening members fitted in the carrier securing holes 102 and103. To forward downward portions of the front stay 33 between the leftand right support bases 108, headlamp stay 119 for securing the headlamp4 using a pair of left and right weld nuts 116 are attached.

The electric motorcycle 1 is configured such that a throttle operationis carried out by turning motion of a throttle grip attached to a rightside end portion of the steering handle member 9. In the presentembodiment, a sensor main body 67 of a throttle opening sensor fordetecting this throttle operation is disposed at a position forwardly ofthe head pipe 36. A throttle wire 111 connected to the throttle grip isconnected at the other end portion thereof to an outer peripheral endportion of a pulley 110 attached for rotation to the sensor main body67. Consequently, an operation state of the throttle grip can bedetected based on the rotational state of the rotary shaft of the pulley110. The pulley 110 is normally biased in a direction in which thethrottle is returned by a torsion coil spring not shown.

A throttle cable 114 including the throttle wire 111 coated with anouter tube is laid from the right side to the left side in the vehiclewidthwise direction forwardly of the head pipe 36 and is, while beingcurved, laid back to the right side and then is secured to apredetermined position by an attaching stay 113. A protective hood 112for preventing the pulley 110 from contacting with any other part or thelike is provided above the pulley 110.

A circular cover member 90 in which two through-slits 90 a are formed ata portion of an upper portion of the upper side carrier securing hole102 which corresponds to a position of the speaker 60, which notifies awalker or the like of approach of the electric motorcycle 1, forwardlyof the vehicle body, and which is displaced leftwardly in the vehiclewidthwise direction of the front cover 7. The cover member 90 isremovably mounted on the front cover 7.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the vehicle body in a state inwhich the front cover 7 and so forth are removed. Like referencecharacters to those described hereinabove denote like or equivalentelements. The speaker 60 is disposed in an offset relationship to thevehicle body left side with respect to the head pipe 36 at the center inthe vehicle widthwise direction on the face of the leg shield 10 on thevehicle body front side. On the right side in the vehicle widthwisedirection across the head pipe 36, a key cylinder 115 of a main switchis disposed. A keyhole into which a main key (not shown) is to beinserted is formed at one end portion of the key cylinder 115, and thiskeyhole is exposed to the vehicle body rear side from a through-holeprovided in the leg shield 10 (refer to FIG. 12). The speaker 60 and thekey cylinder 115 are advantageous in weight balance, threading of acable or the like and so forth since it is disposed at a substantiallyequal distance in the vehicle widthwise direction and at a substantiallysame height with respect to the center of the vehicle body (head pipecenter C).

The speaker 60 is disposed so as to be directed forwardly of the vehiclebody from an upper portion of the upper side connecting plate 105 of thefront stay 33. Since also the front carrier 6 (refer to FIG. 2) attachedto the front stay 33 is formed in conformity with the height of thefront stay 33, notification sound outputted from the speaker 60 is notdisturbed by the front carrier 6 and so forth. Also when the load basket66 of a large size (refer to FIG. 2) or the like is attached to thefront carrier 6, since the speaker 60 is disposed at a position rathernear to an upper portion of the load basket 66, even if a baggage isplaced in the load basket 66, the possibility that generated sound maybe disturbed is reduced.

The pulley 110 of the throttle opening sensor is disposed below the keycylinder 115 on the right side in the vehicle widthwise direction, andthe throttle cable 114 is laid from forwardly of the head pipe 36 pastthe left side in the vehicle widthwise direction and then to the rightside of the vehicle body past the rear of the head pipe 36.

FIG. 7( a) is a front elevational view and FIG. 7( b) is a sectionalview of a cover member 91 according to a modification to the covermember 90 shown in FIG. 5. Three through-slits 91 a through whichnotification sound passes are disposed in the cover member 91. Flanges92 are provided on an outer peripheral portion of the cover member 91such that the cover member 91 can be secured to the front cover 7 byscrews 94 using bosses 93 provided on the rear face side of the frontcover 7. Since the cover member 91 is configured for removable mountingon the front cover 7, for example, it is possible to fit with covermembers of other various shapes in order to carry out sound volumeadjustment of notification sound or design change or to fit, in avehicle which does not include the speaker 60, with a lid member havingno through-slit.

FIG. 8( a) is a front elevational view and FIG. 8( b) is a sectionalview of a cover member 95 according to a second modification to thecover member 90 shown in FIG. 5. The sectional view in FIG. 8( b) is asectional view taken along line A-A of the front elevational view inFIG. 8( a). The cover member 95 is formed from a base member 96 in whichwindow portions 96 a of a substantially sectoral shape are formed, and arotatable plate 97 for closing up the window portions 96 a. Therotatable plate 97 is configured for engaging at an outercircumferential end face 99 thereof with an inner circumferential grooveof the base member 96 so as to be rotatable. Consequently, by grippingan operating projection 100 to rotate the rotatable plate 97, theopening area of the window portions 96 a can be changed arbitrarily.Flanges 98 are provided on an outer circumferential portion of the covermember 95, and are secured to the front cover 7 by means of screws 122using bosses 101 provided on the rear face side of the front cover 7.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged front elevational view showing a structure aroundthe front stay 33. Like reference characters to those describedhereinabove denote like or equivalent elements. The protective hood 112which covers the pulley 110 from above is inclined such that it assumesa lower position toward the outer side in the vehicle widthwisedirection and is disposed at a front end portion thereof forwardly ofthe vehicle body with respect to the center potion of the pulley 110.The sensor main body 67 (refer to FIG. 5) and the pulley 110 aredisposed adjacent the head pipe 36 and rearwardly with respect to theposition of a lower end portion of the head pipe 36 as viewed in sideelevation of the vehicle body. Further, as viewed in front elevation ofthe vehicle body, the sensor main body 67 and the pulley 110 aredisposed in an offset relationship to the right side in the vehiclewidthwise direction from the head pipe 36.

Since the sensor main body 67 and the pulley 110 of the throttle openingsensor are disposed between the upright frame portion 104 of the frontstay 33 and the head pipe 36 as viewed in side elevation, even ifexternal force is applied to the front cover 7, the possibility that thesensor main body 67 or the pulley 110 may be influenced by the externalforce is reduced.

Further, also the taking out direction of the rotary shaft of the pulley110 or the throttle wire 111 is inclined with respect to the axialdirection of the head pipe 36 in conformity with the throttle cable 114which is disposed in a curved stage forwardly of the head pipe 36.Consequently, the possibility that a turning operation of the steeringhandle member 9 may have an influence on the sensor output is reduced.While the throttle cable 114 is curved arcuately and passes between thehead pipe 36 and the speaker 60, it is guided to the front of the headpipe 36 and is connected to the pulley 110 supported for rotation on thesensor main body 67 of the throttle opening sensor.

Further, with the protective hood 112 provided above the pulley 110,even if a screw or a bolt drops from a fastening location above the headpipe 36 upon assembly, it is possible for the protective hood 112 toreceive the dropping article so that it may not have an influence on therotating operation of the pulley 110. Since the protective hood 112 isinclined outwardly downwardly in the vehicle widthwise direction, thescrew, bolt or the like dropping from above can be dropped outwardly inthe vehicle widthwise direction, that is, in a direction toward aposition at which a smaller number of attachment members exist and waterand so forth can be prevented from being accumulated at an upper portionof the protective hood 112.

Further, on a side face portion of the upright frame portion 104 on theright side in the vehicle widthwise direction, a recessed portion 104 afor preventing interference between the upright frame portion 104 andthe pulley 110 even if the upright frame potion 104 should be movedrearwardly by an action of external force from forwardly is formed.

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional side elevational view showing a structurearound the head pipe 36. The front carrier 6 is secured to the frontstay 33 through round pipe stays 6 a and 6 b. The front carrier 6 can beconfigured from frame portions which are disposed in a spacedrelationship from each other in the leftward and rightward direction bybeing formed, for example, by bending working of a single round pipematerial, and a plate-like member which connects liner portions of theframe portions to each other.

As described hereinabove, the speaker 60 which outputs notificationsound is disposed rearwardly upwardly of the front stay 33 on the leftside in the vehicle widthwise direction of the head pipe 36. In thepresent embodiment, a notification sound switch for selecting whether ornot notification sound should be outputted is provided integrally with arear portion of the speaker 60. A notification sound switch 118 is anon/off switch of the projectable/retractable type which is slidablyoperated in the forward and backward directions of the vehicle body withrespect to a retaining member 117 secured to a wall face of the legshield 10. An operating element of the notification sound switch 118 isexposed to a face of the leg shield 10 on the vehicle body rear side.The key cylinder 115 and the speaker 60 are disposed forwardly upwardlyof the head pipe 36 in an overlapping relationship with each other asviewed in side elevation of the vehicle body.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an attached state of thespeaker 60. In the speaker 60, a functioning part such as cone paper, amagnet or the like is accommodated between a rear side case 61 and afront side cover 63. The speaker 60 is secured by fastening two flanges61 a formed on the rear side case 61 to bosses 62 formed on the frontface of the leg shield 10 by fastening members 62 a such as screws.

A harness 170 is laid on the left side in the vehicle widthwisedirection of the head pipe 36 such that it extends along the throttlecable 114 which is laid to the front side of the vehicle body past theleft side in the vehicle widthwise direction forwardly of the head pipe36. A front brake cable 170 a is laid sidewardly of the harness 170. Adamping grommet 106 b made of rubber is attached to a position of theupper side connecting plate 105 of the front stay 33 which correspondsto a threaded hole 106 a of a weld nut 106 (refer to FIG. 5). It is tobe noted that a damping grommet is attached not only to the portioncorresponding to the weld nut 106 on the right side in the vehiclewidthwise direction but also to a portion corresponding to the weld nuts109 of the support bases 108 (refer to FIG. 5) of the front stay 33.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a structure around the steeringhandle member 9. This figure corresponds to a state which is overlookedfrom a point of view of the rider. The steering handle member 9 isformed from a handle pipe 135 fixed to an upper end portion of thesteering stem 37 supported for pivotal motion on the head pipe 36, andhandle grips 9 a secured to the opposite end portions of the handle pipe135. The handle grip 9 a on the right side in the vehicle widthwisedirection is supported for rotation with respect to the handle pipe 135and functions as a throttle apparatus connected to the throttle cable114.

A meter apparatus 130 for displaying various kinds of information suchas a vehicle speed, an accumulated distance and a battery remainingamount is disposed centrally in the vehicle widthwise direction of thehandle cover 8. The meter apparatus may be composed of various displayssuch as liquid crystal display. An operation button 134 for carrying outa changing over operation between an odometer and a trip meter displayedon the meter apparatus 130 and resetting of a trip meter is disposed onthe right side in the vehicle width direction.

An optical axis changeover switch 131 for the headlamp 4, an activatingswitch 132 for the direction indicators 5 and an activating switch 133for the horn 69 are disposed in order from above on the handle cover 8in the proximity of the handle grip 9 a on the left side in the vehiclewidthwise direction.

It is to be noted that, on an ordinary engine driven vehicle, an enginestarter button is disposed in the proximity of the handle grip 9 a onthe right side. However, on the electric motorcycle 1 according to thepresent embodiment, a starter button is not required and therefore isnot provided, and a free space corresponding to the starter button isprovided. A control unit 80 a for controlling the output of the speaker60 may be disposed, utilizing the free space, in the inside of thehandle cover 8 below the handle pipe 135 on the right side.

The key cylinder 115 is attached to a stay 136 secured to the right sidein the vehicle widthwise direction of the head pipe 36, and a keyholeinto which a main key is to be inserted is disposed rearwardly upwardsfrom a through-hole formed in the leg shield 10. The notification soundswitch 118 for the speaker 60 is disposed on the left side in thevehicle widthwise direction across the head pipe 36. It is to be notedthat also it is possible to output approach notification sound using thehorn 69 for generating alarming sound or conversely to output alarmingsound using the speaker 60 to reduce the number of parts.

FIG. 13 is a partial sectional side elevational view showing aconfiguration around the accommodating box 49. A support shaft 137directed in the vehicle widthwise direction is disposed at an upperportion of the front end of the accommodating box 49 supported by thepair of left and right rear frames 40 of the vehicle body frame 34. Asupported plate 141 is securely mounted on a lower face of a frontportion of a bottom plate 24 a of the seat 24 by a pair of bolts 142. Asupporting member 138 disposed below the supported plate 141 issupported for pivotal motion on the accommodating box 49 through thesupport shaft 137. A pair of left and right cylindrical members 140 aresecured at an upper end thereof to the supported plate 141 by pins 151,and are fitted at a lower portion thereof for upward and downwardsliding movement in the supporting member 138. Coiled springs 139 whichsurround the cylindrical members 140 are interposed between thesupporting member 138 and the supported member 141. A buffering stopmechanism when the seat 24 is opened fully is configured from a slidemechanism which uses the springs 139.

The accommodating recess 50 projecting downwardly is formed on thebottom of the accommodating box 49. The accommodating recess 50 isformed from a battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a forprincipally accommodating the low voltage battery 51 therein, and acontrol unit accommodating recessed portion 50 b for principallyaccommodating the control unit 80 therein. The low voltage battery 51disposed in the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a is securedto the accommodating box 49 by causing engaging pieces 144 on theopposite ends of a band 143 suspended on an upper face of the lowvoltage battery 51 to be engaged with hooks 145 fixedly provided on thebottom portion of the accommodating box 49 forwardly and rearwardly ofthe battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a. The low voltage battery51 is disposed such that a terminal section thereof is positionedupwardly and rearwardly of the vehicle body.

The control unit 80 and the low voltage battery 51 are covered fromabove with a cover plate 148 removably attached to an upper face of thebottom portion of the accommodating box 49. The cover plate 148 isfastened at four places around the control unit 80 by screw members 149.

The accommodating box 49 is disposed such that it partly overlaps withthe rear frame 40 as viewed in side elevation of the vehicle body. Thefirst cross pipe 59 which interconnects the two rear frames 40 in thevehicle widthwise direction is disposed at a height between a lowermostportion of the accommodating recess 50 and the cover plate 148. Thecontrol unit 80 is disposed such that it partly overlaps with the rearframe 40 as viewed in side elevation of the vehicle body and overlapswith the first cross pipe 59 as viewed in top plan of the vehicle body.Further, the cover plate 148 is configured such that it covers an upperface of the low voltage battery 51 and the control unit 80 substantiallyin level with the same. Consequently, a separate independent cover platefor each part becomes unnecessary and besides an accommodation articlein the accommodating box can be retained stably.

Stays 150 are securely mounted at two locations of the first cross pipe59 spaced leftwardly and rightwardly from each other. Weld nuts aresecurely mounted on a lower face of the stays 150. By screwing boltsinto the weld nuts from the bottom face side of the control unitaccommodating recessed portion 50 b, the accommodating box 49 is securedon the front side thereof to the first cross pipe 59. Further, a secondcross pipe 40 a for connecting the rear frames 40 to each other isdisposed rearwardly upwardly of the first cross pipe 59. A steppedengaging portion for engaging with the second cross pipe 40 a from aboveis formed on a rear wall of the accommodating box 49. A clip 146 forsecuring a main harness 147 is provided on a rear wall of the batteryaccommodating recessed portion 50 a.

A coupler 81 for connecting the harness extending from the control unit80 to the harness on the vehicle body side is disposed in theneighborhood on the vehicle body front side of the control unit 80 inthe control unit accommodating recessed portion 50 b.

The second speaker 70 described hereinabove is secured to the vehiclebody front side of the accommodating box 49. The second speaker 70 issecured to a central position in the vehicle widthwise direction byfastening members 72 such as bolts using bosses 71 provided on a wallface 49 a on the vehicle body front side of the accommodating box 49.Notification sound outputted from the second speaker 70 is outputtedfirst toward the front side of the vehicle body and then reflectedleftwardly and rightwardly in the vehicle widthwise directions andrearwardly of the vehicle body by a face of the leg shield 10 on thevehicle body rear side. Further, since the second speaker 70 is attachedto the accommodating box 49, an attaching member for exclusive use forthe speaker is unnecessary, and besides the accommodating box 49 servesalso as an echo member of the second speaker 70 and a desired soundpressure can be assured by a speaker of a small size.

FIG. 14 is a top plan view showing a configuration around theaccommodating box 49. Like reference characters to those describedhereinabove denote like or equivalent elements. The low voltage battery51 accommodated in the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a isdisposed such that a positive side terminal 155 and a negative sideterminal 156 are positioned rearwardly upwardly of the vehicle body. Apower supply line led out from the positive side terminal 155 is takenin the main harness 147 and is laid on one side thereof to the frontside of the vehicle body. The other side of the main harness 147 is ledout to the outside of the accommodating box 49 from an exit hole 152 aformed in the bottom on the right side in the vehicle widthwisedirection of the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a in order tosupply power to various accessories. Also a ground line led out from thenegative side terminal 156 is taken in the main harness 147.

A fuse box 159 is disposed on the left side in the vehicle widthwisedirection of the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a. The fusebox 159 is disposed at a position between the bottom of the batteryaccommodating recessed portion 50 a and the bottom of the control unitaccommodating recessed portion 50 b. A control unit connecting harness83 led out from the main harness 147 is laid on the front side of thevehicle body in such a manner that it is sandwiched between the fuse box159 and the cover plate 148 in the upward and downward direction.

A partition plate 158 erected upwardly of the vehicle body is formedbetween the low voltage battery 51 and the fuse box 159. The fuse box159 is secured in such a manner that it is sandwiched between thepartition plate 158 and a side wall on the left side in the vehiclewidthwise direction of the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a.With the partition plate 158, it is made possible to dispose the fusebox 159 in the proximity of the low voltage battery 51 thereby toenhance the maintenance performance and facilitate an operation ofmounting and removing the low voltage battery 51 while the fuse box 159is retained.

A seal face 160 which contacts in face with the cover plate 148 toexhibit a waterproof property and so forth is provided around a threadedhole 149 a into which a screw member 149 for securing the cover plate148 is to be screwed. At a portion of the seal face 160 on the vehiclebody front side of the fuse box 159, a recessed portion 161 for passingthe control unit connecting harness 83 therethrough is formed.

A first drain hole 191 for discharging water admitted in the inside ofthe battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a is provided at aposition of the bottom of the battery accommodating recessed portion 50a displaced leftwardly in the vehicle widthwise direction and forwardly.Further, a second drain hole 192 is provided also in the bottom betweenthe fuse box 159 and the partition plate 158. Consequently, even ifwater or the like should enter the control unit accommodating recessedportion 50 b, it is discharged rapidly through the first drain hole 191of the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a formed continuouslywith the control unit accommodating recessed portion 50 b at a positionlower than the control unit accommodating recessed portion 50 b.Further, if water enters the attachment bottom of the fuse box 159, thenit can be discharged from the second drain hole 192. It is to be notedthat, in the case where the side stand 20 is attached to the right sidein the vehicle widthwise direction, the first drain hole 191 can beprovided rather near to the right side in the vehicle widthwisedirection.

The control unit connecting harness 83 laid to the front side of thevehicle body past an upper portion of the fuse box 159 and theconnection harness 82 led out from the control unit 80 are connected toeach other by the coupler 81 positioned on the vehicle body front sideof the control unit 80. The coupler 81 is covered with a coupler cover190 made of rubber. In particular, the coupler 81 is disposed in theproximity of the face on the vehicle body front side of the control unit80, and the control unit connecting harness 83 connected by theconnector provided on one end of the connection harness 82 and extendingrearwardly past sidewardly of the low voltage battery 51 is led out tothe outside of the accommodating box 49 together with a wiring lineconnecting to the low voltage battery 51. Therefore, the control unitconnecting harness 83 can be wired collectively in a high spaceefficiency in the accommodating box 49.

With such a control box accommodation structure as described above,since the control unit 80 is accommodated in the control unitaccommodating recessed portion 50 b provided on the bottom of theaccommodating box 49, the control unit 80 can be protected effectivelyagainst an impact from the outside while an influence of rain and soforth is prevented from being had on the control unit 80. Further, sincethe control unit 80 is covered from above by a cover plate 84 in theaccommodating box 49, placement of some other accommodation article fromand into the accommodating box 49 is facilitated, and interference ofsome other accommodation article with the control unit 80 can beprevented advantageously.

Further, since the low voltage battery 51 is accommodated in the batteryaccommodating recessed portion 50 a connecting to the control unitaccommodating recessed portion 50 b, the low voltage battery 51 isdisposed in the proximity of the control unit 80, and consequently,assurance of the power supply is facilitated and it is made possible todirectly connect the control unit 80 to the low voltage battery 51 toachieve enhancement of the wiring efficiency. Further, since the lowvoltage battery 51 is disposed such that the terminals 155 and 156 arepositioned at an upper portion thereof, even if water or the like shouldflow into the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a, an influenceof the water or the like upon the terminals 155 and 156 can be avoided.

Furthermore, since part of the rear frame 40 and the control unitaccommodating recessed portion 50 b are disposed in an overlappingrelationship with each other as viewed in side elevation and the firstcross pipe 59 disposed between a lowermost portion of the batteryaccommodating recessed portion 50 a and the cover plate 148 in theupward and downward direction is provided to extend between the rearframes 40, the control unit accommodating recessed portion 50 b issurrounded by the rear frames 40 and the first cross pipe 59.Consequently, an influence from the outside can be further suppressedfrom being had on the control unit 80.

As seen in the figure, the accommodating box 49 is disposed so as to bepositioned at the center of the vehicle body center line C. On the otherhand, the control unit 80 and the low voltage battery 51 are disposed inan offset relationship to the right side in the vehicle widthwisedirection with respect to the vehicle body center line C in order tocorrect the position of the center of gravity, which is displaced to theleft side of the vehicle body, because the electric motor M and so forthare built in the arm portion of the swing arm 21 of the cantilever type.Details of the relationship between the dispositional position of thecontrol unit 80 and the low voltage battery 51 and the position of thecenter of gravity of the vehicle body are hereinafter described.

FIG. 15 is a side elevational view of an electric motorcycle la to whichan approach notification control apparatus according to a secondembodiment of the present invention is applied. Like referencecharacters to those described hereinabove denote like or equivalentelements. The present embodiment is characterized in that thedisposition of the second speaker and the control unit is different.Since FIG. 15 is similar to FIG. 1 except the disposition of the secondspeaker and the control unit, description of similar portions isomitted.

The second speaker 70 a is disposed at a lower portion of theaccommodating recess 50 projecting downwardly from the accommodating box49 such that the sound emitting direction is directed downwardly. Inthis instance, a sound guiding duct 154 for introducing notificationsound outputted from the second speaker 70 a to a sideward direction ofthe vehicle body is provided. Notification sound introduced by the soundguiding duct 154 is emitted leftwardly and rightwardly in the vehiclewidthwise direction from through-holes 25 a formed in the left and rightside covers 25 in the vehicle widthwise direction.

Further, as a modification to the dispositional position, the secondspeaker 70 b can be disposed on a lower face of the battery case 47 ofthe high voltage battery 48 disposed below the low floor 15 such thatthe sound emitting direction thereof is directed downwardly. In thisinstance, a sound guiding duct 177 of a megaphone shape or a horn shapefor diffusing notification sound outputted from the second speaker 70 bis provided. The sound guiding duct 177 is configured such that thelower face thereof is positioned substantially in flush with the lowerface of an undercover 42 a.

The control unit 80 a can be disposed in the inside of the handle cover8 below the right side handle pipe 135 utilizing a free space assuredbecause a starter button for an engine becomes unnecessary. Further, thecontrol unit 80 b can be disposed at a position on the rear face side ofthe front stay 33 below the speaker 60.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged front elevational view around the front stay 33according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Likereference characters to those described hereinabove denote like orequivalent elements. This figure shows an attachment structure of thecontrol unit 80 b disposed at a position on the rear face side of thefront stay 33 below the speaker 60. Since FIG. 16 is similar to FIG. 9except the attachment structure of the control unit 80 b, description ofsimilar portions is omitted.

The control unit 80 b can be secured to the upright frame portion 104 onthe right side in the vehicle widthwise direction of the front stay 33utilizing flanges 199 formed at upper and lower end portions thereof.According to such an attachment structure as just described, also whenexternal force is applied to the front carrier 6 or the like, theexternal force can be prevented from having an influence on the controlunit 80 b. Further, since the speaker 60 and the control unit 80 b aredisposed in the proximity of each other, in the case where the approachnotification control apparatus is set as an optional part, an attachingoperation of the approach notification control apparatus to the vehiclebody can be carried out at a time only by removing the front cover 7.Further, with this disposition, also it is possible to form the speaker60 and the control unit 80 b as a unitary part to further simplify theattaching operation of the approach control notification apparatus.

FIG. 17 is a partial sectional side elevational view showing aconfiguration around the accommodating box 49 according to the secondembodiment of the present invention. Like reference characters to thosedescribed hereinabove denote like or equivalent elements. This figureshows an attachment structure of the second speaker 70 a disposed at alower portion of the accommodating recess 50 projecting downwardly fromthe accommodating box 49 such that the sound emitting direction thereofis directed downwardly. Since FIG. 17 is similar to FIG. 13 except theattaching structure of the second speaker 70 a, description of similarportions is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the second speaker 70 a is attached usingbosses 152 formed on a lower face of the battery accommodating recessedportion 50 a and screw members 153 such that the sound emittingdirection thereof is directed downwardly of the vehicle body. The secondspeaker 70 a is disposed at the center in the vehicle widthwisedirection, and the sound guiding duct 154 for guiding notification soundoutputted from the second speaker 70 a to a sideward direction of thevehicle body is provided.

FIGS. 18 and 19 are a partial sectional front elevational view and a topplan view, respectively, showing a configuration around theaccommodating box 49 according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention. Like reference characters to those described hereinabovedenote like or equivalent elements. The second speaker 70 a is attachedto a lower face of the battery accommodating recessed portion 50 a.

The sound guiding duct 154 formed from a pipe-like member is providedaround the second speaker 70 a, and notification sound outputted fromthe second speaker 70 a is introduced in the leftward and rightwarddirections of the vehicle though the sound guiding duct 154 and emittedsidewardly of the vehicle body from a through-hole 25 a formed in eachof a pair of left and right side covers 25 disposed at a lower portionof the seat 24. A flange 25 d is formed at each of end portions of thesound guiding duct 154, and the flanges 25 d and the side covers 25 aresecured to each other using bosses 25 b formed on the rear face side ofthe side covers 25 and screw members 25 c.

With such an attachment structure for the second speaker 70 a asdescribed above, the second speaker 70 a is attached making use of adead space which is a lower portion of the battery accommodatingrecessed portion 50 a and it is possible to emit notification sound fromthe second speaker 70 a in the leftward and rightward directions of thevehicle body. Further, with such a sound guiding duct 157 as describedabove, since the sound emitting direction of the second speaker 70 a canbe changed arbitrarily, the degree of freedom in disposition of thesecond speaker is enhanced.

Referring to FIG. 19, on the side covers 25 on the left side in thevehicle widthwise direction, a key cylinder 115 for unlocking the seat24 by a turning operation of a main key 174 is disposed. A lockmechanism 172 provided at a rear end of the accommodating box 49 isconfigured such that, if the main key 174 is turned, then the lockmechanism 172 releases a hook (not shown) secured to a lower face of theseat 24. This figure illustrates a state in which the cover plate 148attached to an upper portion of the low voltage battery 51 is removed.Around each of screw members 171 for securing the accommodating box 49to the first cross pipe 59 (refer to FIG. 17), a portion around thethreaded hole 149 a for attaching the cover plate 148 is formed in aflat shape so that it can contact closely with the cover plate 148thereby to exhibit a sealing property.

FIG. 20 is a partial sectional front elevational view showing aconfiguration around a battery case 47 according to a modification tothe second embodiment of the present invention. Like referencecharacters to those described hereinabove denote like or equivalentelements. This figure shows a section of the battery case 47 as viewedfrom forwardly of the vehicle body. A fitting rib 56 a is formed on acircumferential edge of an upper opening of the case main body 47 b. Afitting groove 56 b is formed on an opening edge of the lid 47 a. Byfitting them with each other, water immersion from the joining portionbetween the case main body 47 b and the lid 47 a is prevented thereby toassure a watertight property. It is to be noted that the flange portion56 formed on the circumferential edge of the opening of the case mainbody 47 b is secured to the side bracket 54 by bolts 55.

In the present modification, the second speaker 70 b is attached usingbosses 175 formed on the bottom face of the case main body 47 b andscrew members 176 such that the sound emitting direction thereof isdirected downwardly of the vehicle body. The second speaker 70 b isdisposed substantially centrally in the vehicle widthwise direction at aposition near to the road surface G. The sound guiding duct 177 of amegaphone shape or a horn shape is disposed around the second speaker 70b. The sound guiding duct 177 is formed from a tubular member 178secured to the bottom face of the case main body 47 b by screw members179 and formed such that the opening area thereof increases toward adownward direction. A net plate 180 for reducing the influence of sandand so forth upon the second speaker 70 b.

With the disposition of the second speaker 70 b described above, thesecond speaker 70 b can be attached making effective use of a dead spacewhich is a lower portion of the battery case 47. Further, since thesound guiding duct 177 of a horn shape is used, sound emitted toward theground face can be diffused widely together with reflection by the roadsurface. Furthermore, the battery case 47 having a wide bottom faceserves as a good plane of vibration, and a sufficient sound emittingfunction can be obtained even by a small-sized speaker.

FIG. 21 is a partial sectional top plan view of the control unit 80. Thecontrol unit 80 is configured such that a wiring board 185 is attachedto a case 182, in which a control board 183 is accommodated, through awaterproof grommet 184. The connection harness 82 connected to thecontrol board 183 extends through the wiring board 185. The connectionharness 82 is formed from a first wiring line 186 to which a firstcoupler 187 is connected, and a second wiring line 188 to which a secondcoupler 189 is connected.

FIG. 22 is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 19. The firstcoupler 187 and the second coupler 189 are disposed such that theyoverlap with each other in the upward and downward direction at aposition forwardly of the vehicle body with respect to the control unit80. And, the first coupler 187 and the second coupler 189 are coveredwith the single coupler cover 190. It is to be noted that, in thepresent embodiment, a two-pin type part is used for the first coupler187 and a four-pin type part is used for the second coupler 189.

FIG. 23 is a top plan view showing a vehicle body configuration of theelectric motorcycle 1. Like reference characters to those describedhereinabove denote like or equivalent elements. The leg shield 10extends forwardly of the head pipe 36 in such a manner as to cover thehead pipe 36 from sidewardly. The opposite side edges of the leg shield10 are provided contiguously to the opposite side edges of the frontcover 7 at left and right positions in the vehicle body widthwisedirection of the front stay 33. By such a configuration as justdescribed, miniaturization of the front cover 7 can be achieved. Thespeaker 60 is disposed on the left side in the vehicle widthwisedirection of the head pipe 36, and the key cylinder 115 is disposed onthe right side in the vehicle widthwise direction across the head pipe36.

The swing arm 21 according to the present embodiment is of thecantilever type which supports the rear wheel WR only by the arm on theleft side of the vehicle body. Then, since the electric motor M, a speedreduction mechanism and so forth are built in the inside of thecantilever arm, the position of the center of gravity of a rear portionof the vehicle body is likely to be displaced to the left side of thevehicle body. Therefore, in the present embodiment, not only the PDU 52disposed in the proximity of the pivot shaft 58 is disposed in an offsetrelationship to the right side of the vehicle body with respect to thevehicle body center line C but also the low voltage battery 51 and thecontrol unit 80 are disposed in an offset relationship to the right sideof the vehicle body so that a balance of the position of the center ofgravity in the leftward and rightward direction can be established.Further, also where the control unit 80 a is disposed in the proximityof the steering handle member 9 on the right side as shown in FIG. 12,an effect of achieving a left and right balance of the position of thecenter of gravity can be obtained.

FIG. 24 is a sectional view of the swing arm 21 as viewed from above thevehicle body. Like reference characters to those described hereinabovedenote like or equivalent elements. The swing arm 21 is supported forrocking motion on a pair of left and right pivot plates 19 through theswing arm pivot 58 (pivot shaft). The pivot shaft 58 is an elongatedbolt having a screw head 202 and is fitted in a cylindrical collar 204supported by bosses 200 on the swing arm 21 side through bushes 201 andsecured by a nut 203 on the right side in the vehicle widthwisedirection. It is to be noted that the bushes 201 are thermally securedto the cylindrical collar 204, and a collar member of a small thicknessis thermally secured to the outer periphery side of each of the bushes201. Then, the collar members and the bushes 201 are force fitted intothrough-holes of the bosses 200 to define the position of the swing arm21 in the vehicle widthwise direction.

The PDU 52 is accommodated in a large width case section forwardly ofthe rear wheel WR. Consequently, the PDU 52 is disposed rather forwardlyof the swing arm 21 in such a manner as to cross the vehicle body centerline C, which passes the front and rear wheels of the electricmotorcycle 1, in the vehicle widthwise direction. As describedhereinabove, in the electric motorcycle 1, one-sidedness of the weightbalance in the vehicle widthwise direction by offset disposition of theelectric motor M to the left side in the vehicle widthwise direction iscorrected by figuring out the disposition of the PDU 52 as describedhereinabove. As seen in the figure, the position G1 of the center ofgravity of the PDU 52 is positioned on the right side in the vehiclewidthwise direction with respect to the vehicle body center line C.

The swing arm 21 according to the present embodiment is of thecantilever type, which supports the rear wheel WR for rotation only bythe arm section on the left side. The electric motor M, a centrifugalclutch 216 as a clutching mechanism for rotational driving force, and aspeed reducing mechanism 221 are disposed in a concentrated manner at aposition on the vehicle body rear side of the arm section.

The electric motor M is of the inner rotor type which is formed from astator 208 secured to an inner wall of the swing arm 21 and having astator coil, and a rotor 209 secured to a motor driving shaft 212. Thecentrifugal clutch 216 is configured from a drive plate 214 on which aclutch shoe 215 is provided, and a clutch outer 211 for being driven byfrictional resisting force of the clutch shoe 215. The drive plate 214is secured to a left side end portion in the figure of the motor drivingshaft 212, and the motor driving shaft 212 is secured to an output powershaft 218 which is fitted rotatably with the motor driving shaft 212. Itis to be noted that the motor driving shaft 212 and the output powershaft 218 are configured for rotation relative to each other by a needleroller bearing 217 and a ball bearing 210.

Then, the centrifugal clutch 216 is configured such that, if the speedof rotation of the motor driving shaft 212 becomes higher than apredetermined speed, that is, if the speed of rotation of the driveplate 214 becomes higher than a predetermined speed, then the clutchshoe 215 moves to the outer side in a diametrical direction to generatefrictional resisting force so that the clutch outer 211 is driven torotate. Consequently, the rotational driving force of the electric motorM is transmitted to the output power shaft 218. It is to be noted that aleft side end portion in the vehicle widthwise direction of the outputpower shaft 218 is supported for rotation by a bearing 213 fitted in aswing arm cover 205. The right side in the vehicle widthwise directionof the output power shaft 218 is supported for rotation by a bearing 219fitted in a driving case 237 and a bearing 223 fitted in a reductiongear case 220. At a vehicle body rear end portion of the driving case237, a supporting hole 238 for the rear cushion unit 31 is formed. Anoutput wiring line 206 for the electric motor M and a connector 207 fora motor speed sensor (not shown) are disposed on the vehicle body frontside of the electric motor M in a swing arm cover 205.

Rotational driving force transmitted to the output power shaft 218 istransmitted to the final output power shaft (axle) 23 through the speedreducing mechanism 221. More particularly, the rotational driving forceis transmitted to the final output power shaft 23, which is rotatablysupported by a bearing 236 secured to a second speed reducing gear wheel235 and fitted in the driving case 237 and another bearing 233 fitted inthe reduction gear case 220, through a first speed reducing gear wheel228 which meshes with a speed reducing gear wheel 222 formed at a rightside end portion in the figure of the output power shaft 218, a firstspeed reducing shaft 224 rotatably supported by a bearing 225 secured tothe first speed reducing gear wheel 228 and fitted in the reduction gearcase 220 and another bearing 226 fitted with the driving case 237, and asecond speed reducing gear wheel 235 which meshes with a speed reductiongear wheel formed on the first speed reducing shaft 224.

A wheel 227 of the rear wheel WR is secured to a right side end portionin the figure of the final output power shaft 23 with a collar 229interposed therebetween. A brake drum having a liner 231 is formed onthe inner diameter side of the wheel 227. A pair of upper and lowerbrake shoes 230 which are driven by a brake cam 232 around an axisprovided by an anchor pin (not shown) are accommodated in the inner sideof the brake drum. It is to be noted that an oil seal 234 is disposed onthe rear side in the figure of the bearing 233.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the control unit80. The control unit 80 includes a REG (regulator) circuit 250, anEEPROM 251 as pseudo engine sound volume storage means in which soundsources and sound volumes of engine sound and so forth of engine drivenvehicles are recorded, a WDT (watch dog timer) 252 for maintainingnormal operation of the system, an audio processor 255, and an amplifier256.

To the control unit 80, information from the PDU 52 is inputted throughthe first coupler 187. Further, to the REG circuit 250 of the controlunit 80, the low voltage battery 51 is connected through the secondcoupler 189 of the two-pin type. Furthermore, to the amplifier 256 ofthe control unit 80, the speaker 60 is connected through the secondcoupler 189. To the audio processor 255, output information of theEEPROM 251 and the WDT 252 and a motor speed Nm and a vehicle speed Vinputted from the PDU 52 are inputted.

The audio processor 255 calls a predetermined sound source from theEEPROM 251 based on information of the motor speed Nm and the vehiclespeed V and outputs notification sound with a predetermined sound volumefrom the speaker 60 (and various second speakers) through the amplifier256.

It is to be noted that, while, in this figure, an input portion from thelow voltage battery 51 and an output portion from the amplifier 256 areshown separately from each other, both portions are collected to thesecond coupler 189 of the four-pin type. Further, to the audio processor255, output information from a raindrop sensor 257 and an illuminancesensor 258 can be inputted further. In this instance, this can be copedwith, for example, by changing the second coupler 189 of the 4-pin typeto that of the 6-pin type.

If it is detected by the raindrop sensor 257 that it is raining, thenthe audio processor 255 can increase the sound volume of notificationsound from that in a normal state so that the perception effect of thenotification sound may not be reduced by the sound of the rain. On theother hand, if it is detected by the illuminance sensor 258 that it isnighttime, then the audio processor 255 can set the sound volume of thenotification sound so as to be lower than that in a normal state. Alsoit is possible to apply a noise sensor or the like such that the soundvolume of the notification sound is set so as to increase when theenvironmental noise is high, for example, because the traffic amount isgreat.

FIG. 26 is a graph illustrating a relationship between the vehicle speedand the running sound in various vehicles. In this graph, A as an enginedriven vehicle, B as an engine four-wheeled car, and C as a motorcyclewithout power are illustrated. In the case where the engine drivenmotorcycle and the engine four-wheeled car are compared with each other,the engine driven motorcycle which exhibits a high engine speed upon lowspeed running because the total engine displacement volume is small andwherein the engine is exposed outwardly of the vehicle body exhibits agenerally high sound pressure level (sound volume).

The data of the motorcycle without power represented by C indicate asound volume in the case where a vehicle for a test having no engine asa power source is driven. If attention is paid to the data of themotorcycle without power, running sound whose level a little exceedsthat of the engine four-wheeled car immediately after starting thereofbegins to indicate increase of the difference thereof after the vehiclespeed exceeds 10 km/h. Then, at the vehicle speed of 20 km/h, therunning sound comes to C20 which is a little lower than A20 of theengine driven motorcycle. In other words, the ratio in engine sound inthe overall running sound decreases as the vehicle speed increases, andat the vehicle speed of 20 km/h, the influence of presence/absence ofengine sound to be had on the running sound is small.

From the foregoing, in the approach notification control apparatusaccording to the present embodiment, the notification sound is set suchthat it is outputted from the speaker with such a sound volume that aslanting line portion representing the difference between the motorcyclewithout power of C and the engine driven motorcycle of A may be filledup in order to implement running sound equivalent to that of the enginedriven motorcycle. Further, the notification sound from the speaker isset such that it is not outputted if the vehicle speed exceeds 20 km/h.

FIG. 27 is a flow chart illustrating a procedure of approachnotification sound outputting control. At step S1, the motor speed Nm isdetected based on information from the PDU 52, and at step S2, thevehicle speed V is detected based on the information from the PDU 52. Atstep S3, it is decided whether or not the motor speed Nm is equal to orlower than an upper limit value NL. This upper limit value NL is set toa connection speed of the centrifugal clutch 216 (refer to FIG. 24)disposed on the output transmission route of the electric motor M.

At step S4, notification sound is outputted from the speaker 60 suchthat the sound volume thereof increases in response to the increase ofthe motor speed Nm. Then at step S5, it is decided whether or not themotor speed Nm exceeds the upper limit value NL, and if an affirmativedecision is made, then the processing advances to step S6, but if anegative decision is made, then the processing returns to step S4. Inother words, in a non-running state before the centrifugal clutch isconnected, the notification sound is outputted such that it increases inresponse to the speed of rotation of the electric motor M.

At step S6, it is decided whether or not the vehicle speed V is equal toor lower than an upper limit value VL. In the present embodiment, theupper limit value VL is set to the vehicle speed of 20 km/h. If anaffirmative decision is made at step S6, then the processing advances tostep S7, at which the notification sound is outputted such that thedifference of the sound volume thereof from a target sound volume may befilled up in response to increase of the vehicle speed V. In the presentembodiment, as illustrated in the graph of FIG. 26, the notificationsound is outputted such that the slanting line portion between themotorcycle without power of C and the engine driven motorcycle of A maybe filled up.

Sound volumes of notification sound at individual predetermined vehiclespeeds can be set in advance as sound volume data in accordance withindividual vehicles by an experiment or the like, and the set data canbe retained into the EEPROM 251 (refer to FIG. 25) of the control unit80. In the present embodiment, the sound volume of notification sound isset such that running sound equivalent to that of a vehicle with a primemover which incorporates a 50-cc engine corresponding to the automobilerank of the electric motorcycle 1 is outputted. However, for example, inthe case where the automobile rank of an electric motorcycle correspondsto a motorcycle of a total engine displacement volume greater than 50 ccbut smaller than 400 cc, running sound equivalent to that of amotorcycle which incorporates a 400-cc engine can be outputted. It is tobe noted that, the relationship between the vehicle rank of an electricmotorcycle and the sound volume of notification sound can be setarbitrarily in response to the vehicle category, the license categoryand so forth in the road traffic act.

Then, at step S8, it is decided whether or not the vehicle speed Vexceeds the upper limit value VL, and if an affirmative decision ismade, then the processing advances to step S9, at which the outputtingof notification sound is stopped, thereby ending the series of controls.It is to be noted that, if a negative decision is made at step S6, thenthe processing advances to step S9, but if a negative decision is madeat step S8, then the processing returns to step S7.

With such approach notification sound outputting control as describedabove, it is possible to output approach notification sound with a soundvolume which conforms to running sound of an actual engine drivenvehicle in comparison with such a controlling method that the soundvolume is increased merely based on increase of the motor speed or thevehicle speed. In particular, the approach notification sound can becontrolled such that running sound equivalent to that of an enginedriven vehicle corresponding to the vehicle rank or the vehicle categoryof the electric motorcycle. Further, the tone of the approachnotification sound may be selected from recorded sound data from anengine driven vehicle corresponding to the vehicle rank or the vehiclecategory of the electric motor or from among various tones of sound.

It is to be noted that the structure, disposition and so forth of thevarious speakers which output notification sound and the control unitwhich controls the speakers are not limited to those of the embodimentsdescribed above but can be altered in various manners. The approachnotification control apparatus according to the present invention can beapplied not only to an electric motorcycle but also to various electricvehicles such as three/four-wheeled vehicles of the saddle type and soforth.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intendedto be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. A vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycle,which outputs a notification sound for notifying a walker or the like ofapproach of a vehicle from a speaker attached to a vehicle body,comprising: a control unit configured to control the notification sound,said control unit being attached to a position, displaced ratherforwardly of the vehicle body, of a bottom face in an accommodating boxdisposed below a seat of the electric motorcycle; and a cover plateforming a part of the bottom of said accommodating box and beingremovably disposed above said control unit.
 2. The vehicle approachnotification apparatus for an electric motorcycle according to claim 1,wherein: a low voltage battery, as a power supply for auxiliaries, isaccommodated on the bottom of said accommodating box displaced ratherrearwardly of the vehicle body from said control unit; and said coverplate is disposed so as to cover an upper portion of said low voltagebattery flush with an upper face of said control unit.
 3. The vehicleapproach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycle according toclaim 2, wherein: said low voltage battery is disposed in a batteryaccommodating recessed portion provided on the rear side of the vehiclebody with respect to said accommodating box; said control unit isdisposed in a control unit accommodating recessed portion provided onthe front side of the vehicle body with respect to said batteryaccommodating recessed portion; the bottom face of said batteryaccommodating recessed portion is formed at a position lower than thatof the bottom face of said control unit accommodating recessed portion;and a cross pipe, which connects a pair of left and right rear frames ofa vehicle body frame in a vehicle widthwise direction to each other, isdisposed below the bottom of said control unit accommodating recessedportion.
 4. The vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electricmotorcycle according to claim 2, wherein said low voltage battery isdisposed such that a positive side terminal and a negative side terminalare disposed in the vehicle widthwise direction and both of the positiveside terminal and the negative side terminal are positioned on the rearside of the vehicle body and on the upper side of the vehicle body. 5.The vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycleaccording to claim 2, wherein: said control unit and said low voltagebattery are disposed in an offset relationship to one side in thewidthwise direction with respect to a vehicle body center line as viewedin top plan of the vehicle body; and a fuse box is disposed at aposition opposite to the offset direction below said cover plate.
 6. Thevehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycleaccording to claim 5, wherein the offset direction is the opposite sideto the side on which an electric motor of said electric motorcycle isdisposed.
 7. The vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electricmotorcycle according to claim 2, wherein: said control unit includes acoupler for being connected to a control unit connecting cable extendingfrom said low voltage battery; said coupler is disposed on the frontside of the vehicle body with respect to said control unit; said controlunit connecting cable disposed forwardly of the vehicle body from saidpositive side terminal side of said low voltage battery is connected tosaid coupler; and a connection cable, which connects said coupler andsaid control unit to each other, is connected to said coupler from saidnegative side terminal side of said low voltage battery with respect tosaid control unit connecting cable as viewed in top plan of the vehiclebody.
 8. The vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electricmotorcycle according to claim 2, wherein the low voltage battery issecured to the accommodating box by causing engaging pieces on theopposite ends of a band suspended on an upper face of the low voltagebattery to be engaged with hooks fixedly provided on the bottom portionof the accommodating box forwardly and rearwardly of a batteryaccommodating recessed portion in which the low voltage batter islocated.
 9. A vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electricmotorcycle, which outputs a notification sound for notifying a walker orthe like of approach of a vehicle from a speaker attached to a vehiclebody, comprising: a control unit configured to control the notificationsound, said control unit being attached to a bottom face in anaccommodating box of the electric motorcycle; and a cover plate forminga part of the bottom of said accommodating box and being removablydisposed above said control unit.
 10. The vehicle approach notificationapparatus for an electric motorcycle according to claim 9, wherein: alow voltage battery, as a power supply for auxiliaries, is accommodatedon the bottom of said accommodating box displaced rather rearwardly ofthe vehicle body from said control unit; and said cover plate isdisposed so as to cover an upper portion of said low voltage batteryflush with an upper face of said control unit.
 11. The vehicle approachnotification apparatus for an electric motorcycle according to claim 9,wherein: said low voltage battery is disposed in a battery accommodatingrecessed portion provided on the rear side of the vehicle body withrespect to said accommodating box; said control unit is disposed in acontrol unit accommodating recessed portion provided on the front sideof the vehicle body with respect to said battery accommodating recessedportion; the bottom face of said battery accommodating recessed portionis formed at a position lower than that of the bottom face of saidcontrol unit accommodating recessed portion; and a cross pipe, whichconnects a pair of left and right rear frames of a vehicle body frame ina vehicle widthwise direction to each other, is disposed below thebottom of said control unit accommodating recessed portion.
 12. Thevehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycleaccording to claim 10, wherein said low voltage battery is disposed suchthat a positive side terminal and a negative side terminal are disposedin the vehicle widthwise direction and both of the positive sideterminal and the negative side terminal are positioned on the rear sideof the vehicle body and on the upper side of the vehicle body.
 13. Thevehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycleaccording to claim 10, wherein: said control unit and said low voltagebattery are disposed in an offset relationship to one side in thewidthwise direction with respect to a vehicle body center line as viewedin top plan of the vehicle body; and a fuse box is disposed at aposition opposite to the offset direction below said cover plate. 14.The vehicle approach notification apparatus for an electric motorcycleaccording to claim 13, wherein the offset direction is the opposite sideto the side on which an electric motor of said electric motorcycle isdisposed.
 15. The vehicle approach notification apparatus for anelectric motorcycle according to claim 10, wherein: said control unitincludes a coupler for being connected to a control unit connectingcable extending from said low voltage battery; said coupler is disposedon the front side of the vehicle body with respect to said control unit;said control unit connecting cable disposed forwardly of the vehiclebody from said positive side terminal side of said low voltage batteryis connected to said coupler; and a connection cable, which connectssaid coupler and said control unit to each other, is connected to saidcoupler from said negative side terminal side of said low voltagebattery with respect to said control unit connecting cable as viewed intop plan of the vehicle body.
 16. The vehicle approach notificationapparatus for an electric motorcycle according to claim 10, wherein thelow voltage battery is secured to the accommodating box by causingengaging pieces on the opposite ends of a band suspended on an upperface of the low voltage battery to be engaged with hooks fixedlyprovided on the bottom portion of the accommodating box forwardly andrearwardly of a battery accommodating recessed portion in which the lowvoltage batter is located.